A Warmth In The Cold
by Shadow Padawan
Summary: A mission for ObiWan and Anakin during the Clone Wars can very much turn into a mission to survive. Expect mush but no slash.
1. It's Cold

_**Author's Note:** I really don't know where this fic came from. I'm not quite sure how much I wanna expand it so there miht be some plot twists. As it is this defyes a nice neat summary but there will be plenty of mush. Obi-Wan and Anakin on a mission during CW that's all you really need to know :) I hope you like it and pease reveiw._

_**Disclaimer:** As much as i love the boys they are not mine but are the property of George Lucas as is the whole Star Wars universe._

* * *

The snow fell all around them, covering the ground with a white blanket. The wind was cold and piercing, granting no mercy to the two Jedi who plowed forward relentlessly through its blockade. 

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi had gained a reputation for being one of the best teams in the Jedi Order. Now, even after Anakin's knighting, the former master/padawan team were endlessly assigned joined missions. There really was no use splitting them up.

Anakin, for one, hated the cold. And it seemed that lately all they had gotten were missions to ice balls. The Mid Rim planets rarely had the temperate climate of the Core Worlds. The separatist base which they were suppose to be locating could be anywhere in the north sector of the planet. There had been so little intelligence on the base that Anakin had to wonder why in the world did they have to rush them on this mission when they could have stayed on nice warm Kalay. Of course no planet, or mission, was exactly pleasant these day due to the raging war but there were shades of grey. For example a colder planet was a deeper shade of grey then a warm one. It was that simple, in Anakin's perception.

"Master, do you have any idea why they had to build their base some where up here? In SNOW?" Anakin whined, drawing his thermocame and robe tighter around himself.

"I suppose the snow could serve as a nice camouflage don't you think?"

"Well…yes. But it's cold!"

Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin quizzically. The cold could still turn the young Jedi knight back into the complaining twelve–year-old padawan who had once upon a time driven Obi-Wan nuts.

"How are we supposed to find this place anyway?" Anakin continued fussily. "All we know is that it is in the North West sector."

"Actually, Anakin, if you had been listening to me this morning you would know that the latest information update has supplied us with a broad set of coordinates. About two to three square miles. Not a short distance but better then a quarter of a planet don't you think?"

"Yea, yea ok you caught me," Anakin admitted under his breath. "It's not my fault that you like to wake me up at five thirty in the morning to talk about coordinates."

Obi-Wan decided to ignore that particular comment and looked to his tracker instead. "We should be within the territory by dark tonight so keep your senses sharp," Obi-Wan advised his now moodily silent partner.

Anakin regarded the information with nothing more then a grunt. Obi-Wan shook his head a bit at the young man's dark mood. Anakin had a way to take to brooding these days. He was constantly withdrawn, it seemed, and his mind was often somewhere else. A place to which he wondered often, especially when things got hard. A place into which Anakin would not let Obi-Wan follow him. Every time he withdrew his shields were as tight as Obi-Wan ever saw them and any probing would be repented harshly. Once Anakin had even told him to get out of his head and give him some privacy. That was not a fight Obi-Wan wanted a repeat of. But them maybe he wasn't giving his friend enough privacy. Anakin was a knight now and not his padawan. The fact that their bond remained as strong as it did was a miracle all by itself.

Ever since they got this mission to Halena to locate the separatist base and steel their secret research files, Anakin had been as silent as ever. The young Jedi had been looking to ending the mission on Kalay and then returning to Coruscant. Instead they were ripped from Kalay right before they were at the point of getting the two sides to concur and told that another team would replace them there. They were to conduct a different mission. And when Anakin had heard where they were going his mood did not improve.

Anakin's recent longing for Coruscant was puzzling to Obi-Wan. Anakin had always been eager to go on missions. His padawan had always being confined in the temple and had always searched for an opportunity to get off world but lately Anakin had been yearning to return to Coruscant whenever they were away for more then a month. It was puzzling if not concerning. Not that Anakin spent a lot of time in the actual temple though. The young Jedi was usually no where to be found.

It took Anakin and Obi-Wan almost the whole day to reach the territory in which they were to conduct their search. They were about to call it a day when Anakin held up a hand to stop Obi-Wan's rant about finding shelter.

The too stood quietly for a moment, all senses on high alert. "What is it?" Obi-Wan asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I could swear I heard something…"

Obi-Wan could feel Anakin submerging in the Force and dove into its currents after him. With the Force helping to intensify their hearing the two Jedi were now clearly hearing the soft electric hum that had caught Anakin's attention. 'That boy wouldn't miss a mechanical something or other no matter what the circumstances' Obi-Wan thought. Anakin seemed to have an eye, ear, and anything else you'd think of for mechanics.

"Sounds like…like…a generator…like from a power core," Anakin muttered, more to himself then his partner. He started moving toward a near by cliff face, toward the source of the sound. As he got closer the hum became more distinct and the snow became deeper, slowing the Jedi's progress as his boots sank into its sappy depths. At the foot of the cliff face Anakin dropped to his knees and started rummaging in the snow, sending puffy clouds of snow into the air around him. "A-ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly when the last layer of snow yielded to reveal a control panel and several metal trap doors that seemed to lead underground to where the humming was coming from. "By the looks of it,' Anakin said looking up at Obi-Wan who was now contemplating the control panel over his shoulder," this thing should be large enough to power up a base."

"Yes but we can't sense anyone through the Force," Obi-Wan reasoned. "The base could be several miles away."

Anakin grinned a lopsided smile. "Master I think the cold is getting to you. These trap doors lead to the generators underground. They are due to get broken at times. Wouldn't it only make sense for there to be a service tunnel leading from the generators hold to the base?"

"True but then why the trap doors out here?"

"I precaution I suppose," Anakin shrugged. "I mean you don't think that the workers would go several miles through this cold and snow just to fix a minor problem do you?"

Obi-Wan considered it for a moment then nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

Anakin smiled his self satisfied smile and reached for the lightsaber hanging comfortably on his belt. Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder to stop the intention. "Anakin, why don't you try to override those codes before we do anything loud and destructive?"

Anakin rolled his eyes but took his hand off his lightsaber and turned back to the controls. Several minutes later he had broken through and the pair slid through one of the trap door into the generator hold. The hold was almost completely dark except for the blinking lights of monitors. It took them several minutes to find the tunnel but once they did Anakin gave another triumphant "A-ha!" which echoed down the passage.

"Well it sure is warmer in here,' Obi-Wan commented as they started down the tunnel with their lightsabers held in front of them for light.

"Thank the Force," was Anakin's only response.


	2. I Have A Bad Feeling About This

_**Shoutouts:** _**_Lea Nikkaya_**_: Here's that update for ya!_

**_HarryEstel: _**_Yea I really hate the cld too! The mushy and angsty stuff will come soon enough don't worry :)_

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It took them at least half an hour to reach what seemed like the end of the tunnel. A bright red exit sign glowed from its place above them on another trap door. "Where do you think this one leads?" Anakin asked quietly.

"The basement most likely," Obi-Wan answered. Obi-Wan shut his eyes and probed the outside of the trap with the Force. The space above them was empty. "All clear."

Anakin nodded and beckoned Obi-Wan over to the wall where he had called the rope latter down from its place on a hook several meters above them,. "Shall we?"

"After you."

Anakin climbed up the rope latter with Obi-Wan close behind his and pushed the trap door open. It wasn't even locked! Anakin shook his head in disbelief.

"I have a bad feeling about this,' Anakin heard Obi-Wan say behind him as they rolled out of the trap door and onto the floor of what looked like a large storage room.

"Ah stop being paranoid." Anakin muttered. "Do you have the map of this place.

Obi-Wan didn't offer any replies this time, only took out a holochip and several seconds later a holographic 3D map of the laboratory appeared. "We only know what the left wing looks like," Obi-Wan explained implying the reason for why the right side of the map was blank. "We have ended up in the main storage which I presume this to be. So luckily we know where to go from here."

The Jedi slipped silently down the corridors of the base successfully avoiding several droid patrols and got into the main control room. Anakin knocked out the one man in the room with a solid him of his lightsaber hilt to the man's head. He sank into the chair at the main computer terminal and started scanning all systems, breaking through codes, and shutting down firewalls with Obi-Wan looking over his shoulder the whole time pretending that he knew exactly what Anakin was doing when in fact his former padawan had lost him at the first firewall. Instead Obi-Wan consented silently to be the lookout and stretched his senses out through the Force.

After ten minutes he could feel a patrol coming their way. Maybe they would pass and maybe not. "Anakin, there's a patrol coming our way are you almost done?"

"Yea I think I found the files I just have to break through their core code. It's giving me a headache." After a few moments of silence Anakin nodded. "Ok I have them." He plugged the datachip into the computers main terminal and started downloading the files all the while monitoring firewalls to make sure they didn't go up.

The patrol was outside the door by the time the files were half loaded onto the chip and Obi-Wan tensed, holding his 'saber in a tight grasp, ready to activate it at any moment. But the patrol went by.

Obi-Wan heard Anakin curse softly under his breath. "What is it?"

"Some of the firewalls are coming back up or their back ups anyway. If they detect me before I can disconnect they'll set off an ala-"

A harsh ringing sound ripped through the air and red lights started to flash at the corners of the control room. "Sith!" Anakin spat jerking out the holochip as it beeped a complete download a few moments too late. "Let's get out of here!"


	3. Avalanche

_**Shoutouts:** _**_Lea Nikkaya:_**_ Yea the boys always manage to get themselves into trouble somehow. Lol :)_

* * *

The two Jedi burst out of the control room with lightsabers activated and raced down the halls which were rapidly starting to fill with battle droids. They navigated the halls without a clue to where they were going with only the thought of getting out of the building. Finally Obi-Wan managed to spot an exit and pulled Anakin through a side corridor toward the exit. They ran through the hallways backwards, all the while deflecting blaster shots from the oncoming droids. 

As they burst out into the cold night air off Helena they realized that this wasn't the end of their troubles. Nether did they end once they were able to make it through the energy fence by frying the control panel with their 'sabers.

A mighty roar from the top of a nearby mountain caught their attention. Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up to see a mound of snow headed heir way at impossible speeds. "Avalanche," Anakin muttered in dismay as the two Jedi dove for the ground, curling into protective positions.

Obi-Wan gapped as he was picked up by the snow and hurled forward in a blazingly white snowball. He tumbled forward with the mass of snow, doing all he could to protect himself through the onslaught. Suddenly the ground fell away from beneath him and he started falling. The Jedi reached out automatically in order to grope and some sort of handhold but he was being carried too fast and the sleek snowy slopes were too smooth to hold on to.

Obi-Wan hit the ground with a harsh _THUMP. _Stars flew in front of his eyes and he seemed to drift in and out of a dark mist and was only barely aware of rolling down an incline. Then without any warning….

_CRACK…SPLASH_

The snow ball with the Jedi Master at its center crashed through the ice of what could have been a river or a pond. The snow melted away and Obi-Wan found himself engulfed by freezing water that sent him into a sort of shock, multiplying the colorful stars that danced before his eyes.

Obi-Wan worked his way to the surface, kicking frantically. He was forced to shake of his heavy robe which was pulling him down and away from oxygen. When finally broke the surface he was sputtering and gasping for air. The Jedi tried to get a hold of anything that might get him to shore and found, to his utter dismay, that the snow ball that had landed him in the water pit had created such a huge whole that he would have to swim t shore.

By that time, however, the frigid water started having its effects on him and his legs and arms became numb. If he didn't get out of the water soon he would drown. But it was so hard to move and the stars before his eyes, along with the piercing headache wasn't helping his think ether.

* * *

Anakin had just managed to catch onto a stray rock in the cliff side before he went over the edge and for some moments hung precariously above the drop. 

The young knight managed to pull himself up onto firmer ground when he was sure that the snow was stable under his feat. He allowed unconsciousness to claim him then.

* * *

Anakin wasn't sure how long he had been under after he had succumb to the darkness but something told him it wasn't too long. 

He sat up brushing snow off himself and twisting himself around to check for injuries. None. Well it was a good start anyways. The next thing the blonde knight noticed was that it was extremely quite. Which brought him to the next question. Where the hell was Obi-Wan?

Anakin reached through the Force to try and locate his wayward partner. For a moment he didn't sense anything. Then when Obi-Wan's signature came into focus Anakin was stricken by how faint it was. He panicked slightly, then. Hurridly searching for where Obi-Wan was, to discover him several meters below him.

Whipping out him cable launcher, Anakin scaled the cliff face and came to the edge of a water pit. A rather large one at that. The young Jedi took one look at the huge whole in the ice and realized, with a pained wince, what had happened.

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_A/N: Comments are loved!_


	4. Going To Be A Long Night

_**Shoutouts:** _**_Lea Nikkaya_**_ Yea the boys always get in trouble!_

**_yodudes5_**_ Thanks!_

**_charie_**_ Heh well the much is on it's way. Not quite there this chapter but getting there. _

**_Liv Naravul_**_ Thanks! I'm lad you like the fic :)_

**_Mo Angel_**_ Thanks...but be warned...smut ahead!_

_**Ani/Obi/Ami** Yea obi-Wan isn't a very happy camper at the moment I don't think. And don't worry SW gets me excited too!_

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"Obi-Wan?" Anakin called uncertainly. He squinted through the darkness and thought that he spotted something bobbing up and down in the water. "Obi-Wan?" Anakin called again. He crept carefully along the ice as not to break it. "Master!" 

Obi-Wan had gone almost completely underwater in his unconsciousness. The floating position that he had placed himself in before passing out had saved him somewhat but not quite. Anakin was surprised that Obi-Wan hadn't chocked on the water yet.

Anakin used the Force to pull Obi-Wan closer to shore. He reached down, and taking the older man by the shoulders, dragged him out onto the ice. Somehow he managed to get his passed out friend to more stable ground before kneeling at his side.

Obi-Wan was pale, socking wet, passed out, shivering like crazy, and there was a large lump on the side of his head close to his temple. Anakin shook his head sadly. He wasn't sure what to do, though the first part seemed obvious, of course: find shelter. This was usually not a problem. Anakin was more concerned of what to do once he got there.

"Sheesh Obi-Wan," Anakin muttered as he lifted Obi-Wan into his arms and threw him over his shoulders., an affectionate smirk forming on his lips. :"Looks like I'm saving you again yea? So what is that eight now? Alright fine stay asleep if you want. Ether way lets get somewhere less…windy."

* * *

The cave that Anakin found was shallow and rather narrow but it was the best he could do for the moment. He was sure he might have been able to find something better further ahead but he was exhausted from carrying his still unconscious partner as it was. 

"Come on, Obi-Wan," Anakin muttered. "This is a really bad time to go Floppy Fish on me." He laid Obi-Wan down gentlyon the cave floor that was unevenly coated with snow, and knelt by his side.

The young knight ran hand through his hair. A dull ach had started in the back of his head and he rubbed the base of his skull with nothing short of annoyance. Right now was really a bad time for this.

He let out a hushed huff and look uncertainly at Obi-Wan. How much could some cold water do? There was the banger of hypothermia but how long had Obi-Wan been in the water? However long Anakin had been passed out but hat certainly couldn't be too long.

But shit that water was cold as Sith!

Anakin reached out and touched Obi-Wan's hand tentatively. He flinched away at the feeling of cold skin touching his. So very cold. He brought his hand to his partner's temple and winced again at the coldness of the skin he felt. Too cold. Not good.

He pushed a strand of wet hair out of Obi-Wan's face, tucking the strand behind the Jedi's ear and…

Something sticky and strangely warm touched Anakin's hand and he pulled it away, glancing at his hand curiously. The red splotch he saw made him gape. Blood? He parted the copper strands to find a minor wound in a small but rather swollen area on the side of Obi-Wan's head. Anakin shook his head and reached for the small med pack that hung on his belt.

"How the kriff do you always manage to get yourself into so much trouble, Master?" Anakin wondered, more to himself then the uncurious form of his friend, as he applied the bacta patch.

Anakin ran a hand through his hair. He was getting worried that Obi-Wan wasn't coming around yet. It had been half an hour almost since he had pulled the Jedi out of the water. Surely he should have come around by now. Something was wrong…maybe the bow to the head? And reached out through the Force and probed Obi-Wan from the inside trying to figure out what was keeping his partner under for so long.

The head injury wasn't much. It would cause some headaches, he was sure, but nothing so serious. His explorations took him deeper, as deep as he could go without using healer techniques.

Obi-Wan's life energy seemed to be gathering itself in his torso and his arms and legs seemed to be loosing heat.

A sharp, cold, gust of wind that found its way into their meager shelter snapped Anakin out of his trance. He wrapped his cloak closer around him and felt the thermocape plaster itself closer to him, providing some very much needed warmth.

The young knight focused his attention back on his partner. No wonder Obi-Wan was cold. His own robe was gone and his tunics were socked through with the icy water. Obi-Wan's lack of shivering concerned Anakin. The older Jedi only experienced periodic shudders but not much more. The lack of shivering was being decreased by the minute.

_When the person stops shivering their body has lost the ability to produce warmth. _

Memories of his first aid classes, that had been drilled into him at a young age in his Junior Padawan years, floated back to him, forcing him to face the gravity of the situation.

That water really was cold and even much warmer water could cause hypothermia. Anakin shook his head. He needed to get the wet clothes off of Obi-Wan, at least the tunics. But what then? He needed something warm to bundle him in. But what?

"_All these layers really do make me look fat."_

_Obi-Wan grinned. "Really, Anakin, you sound like one of those commercial ladies on the holovision commercials. Maybe you should buy yourself the Coruscant Fitness Center exercise set. Only thirty credits and you loose ten pounds in the blink of an eye!"_

_Anakin threw his friend a dirty look. "Very funny, Obi-Wan."_

"_You really aren't looking forward to this are you?"_

_Anakin snorted. "Bitterly cold whether. Just what I need. Heh don't you think there's a reason why I'm wearing a thermocape under my cloak?"_

Anakin unconsciously clutched at his thermocape. It's warmth had been dear to him. He really needed that extra layer….

…But Obi-Wan needed it more.

He set to cutting away Obi-Wan's soaked tunic, careful not to jar him too much. He then slipped off his thermocare, shivering as a gust of cold wind hit him as he was now one extra insolated layer short, and bundled Obi-Wan into it's warmth.

He then settled against the cave wall and pulled Obi-Wan into his arms, cradling him against his chest. "You better wake up soon, Obi," Anakin murmured into his ear, using the familiar. "We need to find a way outta this, you hear?" he ran a hand though the wet hair of the Jedi in his arms and sighed, tilting his head back to lean it against the cavern wall.

This was going to be one long night.


	5. Fear

_**A/N:** Yay! The story lives! I'm sorry that I don't have time to respond to everyone personally but for all you guys who commented thank you very very much I appriciate it and it really helps my motivation :)_

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The world drifted in and out of focus as Obi-Wan wavered between consciousness and oblivion. When he finally struggled his way into awareness a sharp pain shot through his head and needles started pocking at the back of his skull. A harsh cold wind wafted around him and he instinctively snuggled close to the only source of heat that was being provided. It took Obi-Wan's blurry mind several moments to register the wetness of his feet and that he was without his tunic, though covered by some kind of warm cloth. He pried his eyes open to stare at the warm mass he was snuggled up against and found himself faced with dark cloth that was Anakin's tunic.

Obi-Wan shifted in Anakin's arms trying to remember what had happened. He remembered being cold and the stars before his eyes. He remembered the water, that freezing cold water. The Jedi suddenly found his mind wrapped in the memory of the stabbing cold coming from being wet and in the wind. He knew he and Anakin had been at the separatists base but they had been discovered before they could get away cleanly so they had to make a run for it. Something had gone wrong though he wasn't quite sure what it was, his memory was far too fogy.

"Master?" Anakin's quite call summoned Obi-Wan's mind from its recollections. Obi-Wan looked up to look into a pair of worried blue eyes. "Master, can you here me?"

"Anakin, what happened?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice strangely raw. He tried to sit up and slide out of Anakin's arms but the young man pushed him down gently.

"No." Anakin shook his head. "Don't try to move around much. How are you feeling?"

Obi-Wan looked up uncertainly at his partner. "Well," he admitted, "cold for one. Partly numb for another. But besides that and a headache I don't detect anything very life threatening." A gust of cold wind howled outside their cave and a gust of it blew inside, making both Jedi shiver. Anakin hugged Obi-Wan closer protectively. "Anakin, what happened?" Obi-Wan asked again, obliging to lie down as his head started spinning.

"There was an avalanche I guess," Anakin said. "It carried you into the water. I don't know how long you were in there and then you were out cold when I got you out…you didn't come around for a long time. Something might be wrong."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just a little cold…though I thank you for your thermocape."

Anakin grinned. "Aren't you glad I brought it now?"

"I suppose."

"We'll have to get going tomorrow and get back to the ship. Do try to sleep, Master."

Obi-Wan looked concerned. "You won't get much sleep sitting up, Anakin. I assure you that I will be fine."

Anakin only shook his head. "I've slept through worse," Anakin protested. "I want to keep you warm, Obi-Wan."

"Thank you, Padawan," Obi-Wan said genuinely, though still concerned for his friend. Obi-Wan snuggled against Anakin, letting their shared body heat protect him, somewhat, from the cold. It felt oddly comfortable to be like that. He was safe with Anakin, he knew.

The young knight laid his head on top of Obi-Wan's, trying to dispatch his worry. They needed to get to the ship, and fast. Maybe it was just the cold getting to him. Anakin hated being cold. In his experience the cold kills. And Anakin feared death. Not as much his own but of those he cared for. Feared in more then anything else.

* * *

Obi-Wan was an early riser unlike Anakin who enjoyed his sleeping hours to their full capacity, so it was rather disconcerting to wake up while Obi-Wan was still peacefully asleep, his breathing and heartbeat even and undisturbed.

Anakin reached through the Force and probed at Obi-Wan Force signature. It was quite bright and nothing to be disturbed over…yet.

Anakin shivered and looked down at the sleeping Jedi in his arms. Obi-Wan looked so comfortable that Anakin didn't want to wake him. But they needed to get going. The young knight stalled for time a little further by checking Obi-Wan head injury to make sure that it was healing properly. He then reached into the Force and brushed his mind against Obi-Wan's.

Obi-Wan stirred slightly, snuggling closer to Anakin.

"Master. Obi-Wan, you need to wake up," Anakin murmured into Obi-Wan's ear. It took several more attempts for Anakin to get Obi-Wan to wake up. Obi-Wan was usually a light sleeper so this didn't suit Anakin's nerves at all for the moment.

After a meek breakfast of protein cubes the two Jedi started in the general direction of their ship/ Anakin tried coming up R2 to tell the droid to activate the ship's homing beacon but something had gone wrong with Anakin's commlink during the avalanche and so he would need to wait until their next stop to see if he could fix it. Obi-Wan's comm. had shorted out on impact with the water. "And they call these tings waterproof," Obi-Wan muttered to himself as he examined his damaged commlink in disgust.

"I'm sure I can fix mine," Anakin tried to assure them both as they plowed through knee deep snow.

Obi-Wan didn't say anything, only clutched Anakin's thermocape, which now worked in the stead of his tunics and robe, closer to him as anothe gust of icy wind blew in their faces. Not that he had any doubt in Anakin's mechanical abilities, just that he was getting too dizzy to reply.


End file.
